Capability and Infrastructure Initiatives 2019

Round 2

Genomic medicine is set to transform health and wellbeing and provide enormous economic benefits. To fast-track the employment of clinical genomics in Queensland, Queensland Genomics will invest $3 million in 2019 in activities that develop infrastructure and capability across Queensland Health.

The following 13 initiatives were funded as part of Queensland Genomics Capability and Infrastructure Work Program, to ensure Queensland is equipped to apply medical genomics to everyday healthcare.

Genetic Health Institute – Partner with Queensland hospital and health services to establish a Genetic Health Institute to bring together clinical services, education and training, research and innovation, data and technology, academic, and industry partnerships in genomics,to encourage the rapid adoption of genomics into Queensland’s healthcare system.

Primary Care and General Practice Genomics Education – Engage with primary care groups to understand the key medical genomics issues, and raise awareness and understanding of the application of genomics to health care in Queensland.

Nursing Genomics Education and Knowledge –Understand and address the knowledge requirements for nurses working in Queensland Genomics Round 2 disease areas with a particular focus on Breast Cancer and Infectious Disease.

Variant Curation Workshops – Deliver a National Cancer Variant Curation Workshop for clinicians working in cancer genomics, incorporating a train the trainer model based out of Queensland, as well as a Hereditary Variant Curation Workshop to build core capabilities in genetic pathology in Queensland.

Integrating Genomics into the ieMR – Partner with Clinical Excellence Queensland and eHealth Queensland to support Queensland’s Integrated electronic medical Record (ieMR) in the digital delivery of genetic medicine services.

Longitudinal Information Management and Advanced Decision Support – Collaborate with CSIRO’s Australian eHealth Research Centre to develop a strategic approach to the ongoing management of genomic information captured as a result of clinical diagnostics and care,and explore the application of Artificial Intelligence in medical genomics.

GenetiQs – QIMR Berghofer’s GenetiQs project will develop culturally appropriate media content to continue the engagement of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in genomics and personalised medicine, and deliver content throughout Queensland.

Statewide Consent and Ethics for Genomics – QIMR Berghofer will consult across the Hospital and Health Service’s Human Research Ethics Committees to establish a standardised approach to consent, including the further use of collected genomics information for research purposes.

Community Outreach – This initiative will engage with communities to raise public awareness and understanding of medical genomics in Queensland.

Stakeholder Engagement and Briefing Program on the Ethics, Legal and Social Implications (ELSI) Round 1 Findings – This initiative supports engagement on the key findings from the Round 1 ELSI Project with key stakeholders on matters related to privacy protections for Queenslanders and legislative and policy implications for the adoption of medical genomics.

Evaluation of Clinical Genomics – This initiative, led by QIMR Berghofer will evaluate Queensland Genomics Round 2 Clinical Projects to establish the basis for ongoing funding of these services, and to determine the impact of implementation on current clinical practice.

Community Advisory Group – The Queensland Genomics Community Group serves as a forum for the promotion of person-centred care in genomic medicine,and building on the maturity of this group, this initiative will support community representatives to engage and educate stakeholders on its work, and on the value of genomic medicine for patients and their families.